Project Name: House with a Private Giewont Mountain

Location: Kościelisko, Poland

Design Team: BXB Studio Bogusław Barnaś

Total Floor Area: 327 m²

Completion: 2024

Photography: Rafał Barnaś, Piotr Krajewski

Feature: BXB Studio Bogusław Barnaś's House with a Private Giewont Mountain demonstrates how innovative vertical circulation narrative strategies and masterful traditional architecture contemporary translation design philosophy fusion techniques can transform a scenic plot in Kościelisko village, Poland into a contemporary mountain residential architecture exemplar of hiking experience narrative and material expressiveness.

This 327-square-meter four-story residence dramatically integrates the architectural vocabulary of traditional wooden shepherd's huts from the Podhale region with the refined atmosphere of contemporary mountain living, presenting itself as a profound meditation on nostalgic Tatra Mountain landscape elements integration, contemporary residential functionality, and architectural experience innovation fusion. Through carefully considered spatial organization and material selection, it creates an architectural environment that seamlessly weaves the metaphor of mountain journey with everyday living experiences.

The project's most compelling design feature lies in its fundamental challenge and reimagining of architectural circulation. Confronting the challenge of creating strong mountain experience within a limited plot while maintaining residential comfort, the architects employed a black steel structure to create a vertical circulation system threading through all four levels, ascending like a mountain trail, even forming a suspended bridge above the living room, penetrating the glazed gable and extending to an outdoor viewing platform at the roof ridge, blurring the boundaries between interior and exterior, architecture and landscape. This design strategy creates continuous dialogue between architectural experience and natural landscape, achieving a contemporary fusion effect of aesthetic ambition and practical utility, allowing the space to perfectly echo the experiential qualities of the Giewont Mountain hiking trail.

BXB Studio's design language fluently expresses contemporary landscape-driven architectural vernacular, employing strategic material selection and spatial sequence choreography to redefine mountain residential architectural experiences. The roof is clad in titanium-zinc metal sheet manufactured by ZM Silesia, while the facade features a custom perforated mobile panel system developed in collaboration with the Equitone brand, with patterns inspired by snow-covered peaks and local ornamental motifs. These automated panels can open and close freely, both filtering natural light and providing security. After dark, the building transforms into a glowing lantern. The main living spaces are situated on the upper floor, where a fully glazed gable wall frames Giewont Mountain, integrating it as part of the interior experience, creating an atmosphere interweaving contemporary and natural sensibilities.

Most remarkably, the architects create inventive architectural experiences through clever spatial narrative strategies. The entire house is organized around the vertical circulation system, this black steel structure path visible from nearly every room, even observable from the underground garage through a glazed ceiling. The journey reaches its climax at the suspended bridge, hung by three thin steel cables and discreetly anchored into the window framing, creating a surreal effect of floating above the interior. The bridge gently rises, and its steel railing gradually disappears, becoming fully glazed as it transforms into the final outdoor platform positioned at the roof ridge. This structural design is integrated as part of the architectural language, creating a perfect balance between spatial layering and visual drama.

The residence is organized into clear functional stratification. The underground level houses the garage, with a glazed ceiling providing views of the vertical circulation system, creating a unique visual connection. The ground and second floors accommodate daily living functional spaces, with material strategy creating a comfortable residential experience. The upper level presents distinctly different atmospheric qualities, with the panoramic living room framing Giewont peak through the fully glazed gable wall into the interior. From the living room, the path continues upward to the mezzanine and suspended bridge, finally reaching the outdoor viewing platform at the roof ridge, creating subtle interplay of materials, forms, and landscape.

Material strategy continues this harmonious coexistence design philosophy between architecture and natural landscape. Integration with architectural form and functional zoning is reinforced through the use of contrasting materials, including the exterior's titanium-zinc metal sheet and perforated mobile panel system, reflecting the color and texture of the Tatra Mountains' gray rocks and snow-covered peaks. The interior black steel circulation system creates dramatic contrast with the light-colored interior spaces, evoking the rugged sensibility of mountain trails. Natural daylighting and landscape views are optimized through the automated mobile panel system and fully glazed gable wall strategy, with passive design approaches enhancing spatial quality. Landscape design employs local rocks and mountain pines, with stone slab pathways echoing Tatra Mountain trails. Tactile variations in materials further strengthen the clarity of functional zoning, demonstrating BXB Studio's commitment to material innovation and spatial narrative.

Design Team: BXB Studio, founded in December 2009 by Bogusław Barnaś, operates as an interdisciplinary design practice integrating Polish heritage with contemporary architectural expression under one innovative space, having established a pioneering reputation in sustainable residential design, traditional architecture contemporary translation, and landscape-driven architectural language innovation since its founding. This practice with offices in Poland redefines contemporary architects' role in European design discourse through coordinated integration of design respect for Polish historical traditions, natural environment, client needs, and materiality.

BXB Studio brings exceptional cultural sensitivity design perspectives and deep understanding of sustainability-driven approaches to architectural practice. The practice has garnered recognition for its commitment to creating coherent spatial experiences where every element relates to a central narrative, satisfying users' functional requirements and emotional resonance. Its innovative contributions are embodied in the ability to transform Polish historical traditional elements such as Zakopane Style and timber sacral architecture into contemporary architectural language with strong materiality and spatial quality.

The firm's design philosophy emphasizes that architecture should transcend functional limitations, designed not merely to satisfy practical requirements but to organically merge with site qualities and natural environment. Through deep attention to materiality and spatial sequence, working across diversified works from residential villas to urban planning to interior design, they believe the best architecture results from contextually responsive interventions through precise and thoughtful processes of sustainable development principles, energy efficiency strategies, and innovative materials, creating beautiful and healthy environments for humanity to thrive. BXB Studio believes architecture should serve as a profound expression of client vision, creating unique architectural experiences through strategic material selection and innovative spatial organization.